I love a cheery fireplace and fondly remember curling up near the hearth on a cold winter night. But while wood-burning fireplaces are certainly nostalgic, they’re also messy and require cleaning to function safely. “One of the best upgrades we did to our home was switching it from wood to gas,” writes Brittney. “We had two wood-burning fireplaces in our old house, which were more work.” Gas fireplaces are certainly much quicker to turn on and can still provide the warmth and light we expect from a flickering fireplace!